Danny Barnes is one of the coolest musicians around. Here are three reasons why:

1. He owns and operates Minner Bucket Records, a small indie label that releases music on vinyl and cassette. Its releases include mostly Barnes’ own music, plus a handful of other lo-fi and experimental artists, including “Initial Transmissions from the Lost Continent of Mu” by Atomic Duo, a project of Mark Rubin, Barnes’ old bandmate in ’90s alt-country heroes the Bad Livers.

2. He runs a blog called Cassette Anarchy, at which he reviews tape releases, posts pictures of tape players, passes along articles and info about tapes. The guy loves cassettes, and not in that ironic sort of way that’s fueling lots of “cassette revival” stories. He really, really loves cassettes, and I think he loves ’em more if there’s weird music on ’em.

3. He’s an adventurous artistic spirit who loves to run his vituosic banjo playing through an array of electronic effects and call the resulting sound “banjotronics.” You can hear his latest creation, an album called “Shri 108,” at www.dannybarnes.bandcamp.com .

Barnes may not be a household name, but he is one of the most renowned and respected players on the fringes of American roots music. And tonight, he’ll stop at The Belfry for a show alongside his friend Matt Sircely. The two swap original songs and pay no mind to genre lines; their new live album, recorded earlier this year in California, is the 12th Minner Bucket release.